I’m often asked how I get shit done. I often wonder how I manage it myself.
Constant travel, full-time business, freelance work, homeschooling, parenting and all the rest. Yet I still manage to achieve a lot and still fit in time for laughter and love.
So I decided it was time to reflect on how I can be so productive and share it.
Here’s my 9 step plan for getting stuff done:
1. Know your purpose
A lot of the time we struggle to complete tasks because we don’t know what we are doing and why. We zig zag around endless roundabouts of frustration and failure.
Sit down with clarity.
What’s your purpose? What do you want your life to look like in 5 years time? What’s that special something only you have to offer and why do you want it?
Now you have a plan. You know what to say yes and no to. You’ve got a greater fuel for keeping focused and on track. It’s all straight down the line from now on.
Oh yeah – there’s this little bit of magic that happens too when you have clarity and commitment. Test it out and see how the Universe conspires to help you achieve your purpose.
2. Intend to serve
Who are you helping?
As much as we think our life, and all the decisions we make, are about us, they really aren’t. It’s about how are we making a difference.
When you know who you are helping, you know what content to write, what words to say and how to say it. It fires off your tongue faster than an AK47 on rapid fire.
I’ve lived and breathed the culture of travel for over 22 years. I know the talk, I know the struggles, I know the desires, the thinking, the values and the lingo. This reduces my thinking time during the creation process, it just an expression of who I am.
3. Clear the Pig Sty
You know why a pig is slow to move? All that mud slowing him down.
You’re doing that to your mind when you stuff it with fears for the future and regret for the past. Think of all the conversations you have, both real and imaginary that are conducted over the things that rent space in your head.
You can’t create with the incessant head drama. It’s impossible to direct powerful energy into two different places at the same time. You gotta work on clearing your mind.
Create some strategies, cull the head renters, meditate daily, and practice mindfulness. You’ll open up a huge space of time for clarity and productivity.
It’s impossible to direct powerful energy into two different places at the same time. You gotta work on clearing your mind. Create some strategies, cull the head renters, meditate daily, and practice mindfulness.
You’ll open up a huge space of time for clarity and productivity.
4. Use inspired thought to create
The beauty of having a clear mind is that inspired thought becomes that best friend who frequently visits for a cuppa and enlightened conversation.
When you know your purpose and understand the culture of the people you serve, you’ll be forced with a new problem – too much content waiting to be served.
I currently have close to a hundred drafts across my platforms, I’ve got my 30 days to Money Mindfulness program , another one mapped out and notebooks full of scribble and ideas. I carry a notebook with me everywhere so I can capture that inspired creation.
Inspired thought comes from a higher power – it’s the perfect messages the Universe is asking you to give.
When you see that you are the messenger, you absorb the words into your heart and soul so that when it comes time to create, it’s already done.
You just gotta type it out, or draw it, or sing it, or sculpt it – if that’s your thang!
5. Speak your authentic truth
Stop worrying what others think – share your sacredness and special message. If you doubt yourself and worry every word you communicate may offend someone, your world will be a place of scrunched up paper and rewrites.
There’s nothing wrong with who you are. You’re powerful and wise beyond belief. You have a special message to deliver in a way that only you can.
Sure your words may need sharpening (and I’m still working on that) but hell, get the messages out first. The sharpening is the easy part.
Again, when you speak your authentic truth it’s a natural productivity which takes less time and far less time in the follow up, trying to back track, and hold up the fake image you projected in the first place.
6. Combine your tasks
My business is travel. My passion is travel. I travel with my family. Work, passion, family rolled into one.
Within this, I also hit exploration, discovery, outdoor pursuits, food and wine, recreation, and relaxation. I research and collect content while playing with my family. It’s a huge win.
How can you roll up your tasks into one? It’s multi-tasking to the productive extreme.
7. Don’t strive for perfection
I’m a big vision thinker, so I don’t agonize over something when its done. If it’s done and I feel good, it’s done.
I don’t care if there are a few mistakes as long as my message is sharp and clear. I’m forgiving of myself and others if mistakes are made.
If you back what you do with passion, service, and authenticity, you’ll find people will get your message and won’t care that it’s not presented in a perfect way.
If you battle with getting it perfect first, you’re productivity is stuck in neutral and you won’t get ANY shit done EVER. Start before you’re ready!
8. Get organized
I kinda fail on this one, but I’m sharpening it this year and have implemented a few strategies to help me stay better organized.
We’ve recently had our designer do up some templates for us we can use for specific images or quotes like this one:
We’re now scheduling out particular social media updates, we now have a semi-calendar we work towards and I have content for The Money Project and this Digital Lifestyle hub ready for the next month.
This frees me up to spend time on learning and marketing.
9. Re-purpose content
Aside from this travel blog, we write for multiple sites online.
I can take one experience and split it into three different articles to suit the audiences. Same facts, same experience, same thoughts, same photos – just each presented a little differently.
I’ll take content and change it around for guest posts, turn podcasts or newsletters into blog posts, or vice versa, or pull content from my eBooks to share as a standalone post or vice versa.
The super advanced tip
This one is for those more advanced in their business, or have the upfront cash for this investment. It’s called outsourcing, or hiring team members for your business. This is the year I allocated to do more of this.
We considered hiring someone, but just don’t have the time to spend training. For us, it is better to outsource to experts I can give the brief to and they get the shit done.
We hire out our design work, tech maintenance of our sites, some affiliate, and curating work, sponsorship opportunities, and the editing of our eBooks.
This is the most freeing part of your business and will help you get the shit done and give you more time for blissed out fun. I’m so focused on this year.
Extra handy tips
- Carry a notebook/recording device everywhere
- Edit for clarity and strength later
- Experience life
- Roll the thoughts around. Let the good ones marinate with your gut and your intention to remember them. Trust you’ll produce perfection later, even if it is imperfect.
- When you have moments of nothingness, e.g travelling on a tram, waiting in a supermarket line, switch your focus from the jerk back at the office and start creating in your mind and heart. Now when you get home it’s only going to take you 15 minutes to write it out. 3/4 of my writing work is done before I put pen to paper.
- Overcoming the work for free Money Block
- 10 years of travel blogging: the highs and lows
- 10 key lessons from 10 years of building a travel blog
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What’s your tip for getting shit done?
